Bulletin for 07/30/2017
(Vatican Radio) The biggest event of the Asian Catholic Church this year, is taking place in Yogyakarta city, Indonesia, next week. The 7th Asian Youth Day (AYD7) is being hosted by the Archdiocese of Semarang, August 2-6, with over 2000 young people from 21 Asian countries rallying around the theme, “Joyful Asian Youth: Living the Gospel in Multicultural Asia!” The continent-level event has been held in various Asian cities since 1999 in intervals of 2, 3 and 5 years, with the last AYD in Daejeon Diocese in Korea in 2014, in which Pope Francis participated.
Organizers have divided the entire AYD into three events spread across 11 days from July 30 to August 9 . On arrival, the participants will head to the 11 of Indonesia’s 37 dioceses who will be hosting them from July 30 to August 2 in what is called Days in the Dioceses (DID). All the participants will then converge in Yogyakarta from August 2 to 6 for the central event of the AYD7 . The 5 days will include a variety of activities such as adoration, confession, Mass, reflections, testimonies, workshops, group sharing, country exhibits and cultural performances. After the main event, the Asian Youth Ministers will stay back for a meeting, August 6 to 9.
Among the 21 countries participating in the AYD is also the Philippines. To know about it, we called Fr. Conegundo Garganta, the executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Speaking to us on the phone from Manila Fr. Garganta first talked about the Philippine youth delegation to the Asian Youth Day.
Listen:
Summary:
Fr. Garganta said that 69 young people have been officially registered with the AYD7 but with bishops and youth ministers accompanying them, the entire delegation has 82 members.
Peparation
The young people will first head to the Indonesian dioceses of Bogor and Jakarta for the Days in the Diocese (DID). The young people have been preparing for the event following the pre-event modules of the AYD, that recommend reflecting and meditating on the suggested scripture passages, visiting churches, talking to priests, visiting non-Christian families and communities etc.
Philippine contribution to AYD
Fr. Garganta also talked about the contribution that the Philippine young people will be brining to the AYD. He talked about the warmth and friendship of the Filipino people, particularly visible in their smiles, and their strong faith. They would also display the “multi-culturality” of the Philippines, where there are minority and tribal groups and followers of other faiths, “but still people are able to blend well.”
Message
The executive secretary of the Philippine Episcopal Commission on Youth sent a message to Filipinos abroad assuring them that despite numerous challenges and struggles, as in many countries, the faith of the Philippine people was leading them to hope and to continue working for peace . The Church regards the young not merely as hope for the future but much more for the present. Fr. Garganta urged the country, the Church and the government, also of other countries, to “ really invest in the young people” , because they provide “new perspectives in ways of looking at life…” which promote solidarity, unity, friendship, and understanding.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The drought that is affecting the city of Rome and the surrounding areas of the capital has led the Holy See to take measures to save water.
The Governorate of Vatican City State has decided to turn off all the fountains, both the external ones located in St. Peter’s Square, and the interior fountains including those in the Vatican Gardens.
The move is in line with the teachings of Pope Francis in his Encyclical on creation Laudate Si.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The integration of migrants and refugees in host nations can and must become an opportunity for new understanding, broader horizons and greater development for everyone.
This message was at the heart of a statement released on Monday by Father Michael Czerny at the UN in New York during an Informal Thematic Session in New York to gather substantive input and recommendations to inform the Global Compact on Migration .
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
Father. Michael Czerny, who is the Undersecretary of the Section for Migrants and Refugees in the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development – which answers directly to Pope Francis himself – focused his intervention on the need to promote a culture in which the consequences and impacts of migration become an opportunity for “human growth, encounter and dialogue in view of the promotion of peace and fraternity among peoples.”
Pointing out that no one should ever be forced to leave his or her home due to lack of development or peace and that tragically the reasons that compel millions to go on the move today are to be found in endemic poverty, hunger, violence, inadequate work, environmental degradation, weak and corrupt institutions, Fr Czerny said that whether the effects of migration become a gain – for them, their families, their countries of destination and hopefully one day perhaps their countries of origin – depends on the extent to which they are welcomed, protected, promoted and integrated.
That gain – he continued – hinges “on whether migrants and refugees are helped to transition from objects of emergency care to dignified subjects of their own development” and are permitted to use the education, skills, ambitions, experiences and cultural wisdom they already have, as well as those that could be enhanced through further schooling and training for the development of society.
For this desired win-win to occur, he concluded, migrants must first be received and treated as human beings, with dignity and respect for their rights, and they must be protected against all forms of exploitation and from being permanently cast-away, whether socially, economically or legally.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for moderation and dialogue after a surge of violence and killings over Jerusalem’s Temple Mount .
Addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus , the Pope said he is following “with trepidation the grave tensions and violence of the last days in Jerusalem.”
Last week Arab gunmen, shooting from the site – which is Holy to Jews and to Muslims – killed two Israeli policemen sparking a wave of violence in which three Palestinians were killed in street clashes and a Palestinian fatally stabbed three members of an Israeli family.
“I feel the need to express a heartfelt appeal for moderation and dialogue” Francis said and he invited all faithful to join him in prayer so that the Lord may inspire all sides to come together with proposals for reconciliation and peace.
Tensions over the site, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount, have surged in the past couple of days following the installation by Israel of metal detectors after two Israeli policemen were killed near there earlier this month.
The measures angered the Palestinians, who accuse Israel of trying to take control over a sacred place.
Israel now says it is willing to consider alternatives to the controversial metal detectors it installed and has called on the Muslim world to put forward other suggestions.
(from Vatican Radio)…